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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536519">lovely surprises</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernknighted/pseuds/wyvernknighted'>wyvernknighted</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Black Eagles Route, Fluff, Hubert cries just a lil bit, Post-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:55:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,174</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28536519</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyvernknighted/pseuds/wyvernknighted</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>He had a plan this morning, however, which set it apart from the others. This, after all, was the day that marked two years of marriage between himself and Mercedes. They had spent the years immediately following the war relearning how to live, forming new routines in the wake of Fodlan’s new dawn. The time had passed easily, with the days folding into one another like cards in the hands of a skilled dealer, each one slotting smoothly against the next. In no time at all, it seemed, they had reached this milestone. And Hubert was not one to let it pass without acknowledgement.</p>
</blockquote>Hubert tries to surprise his wife.<p>written for day 2 of the Mercibert weekend for the prompt devotion</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mercedes von Martritz/Hubert von Vestra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Mercedes/Hubert Weekend</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>lovely surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hubert woke up bathed in sunlight, wondering not for the first time how he had been so lucky.</p><p>He rose before his wife, stirred by the slant of sunlight that their curtains never seemed to catch. It did not bother him, for he preferred to rise with the sun. He slid from bed, careful not to upset Mercedes’s sleeping form. He was grateful in these moments that his footsteps were light. Perhaps not the original purpose of such a trait, but useful to him all the same.</p><p>He had a plan this morning, however, which set it apart from the others. This, after all, was the day that marked two years of marriage between himself and Mercedes. They had spent the years immediately following the war relearning how to live, forming new routines in the wake of Fodlan’s new dawn. The time had passed easily, with the days folding into one another like cards in the hands of a skilled dealer, each one slotting smoothly against the next. In no time at all, it seemed, they had reached this milestone. And Hubert was not one to let it pass without acknowledgement.</p><p>He pulled out his ingredients, placing them on the counter in organized rows. He and Mercedes had both agreed that they could forgo hiring service workers, though it was custom for nobility to entertain such luxuries. While they both worked in different places during the day, the two of them were content to share in housework. Hubert was used to caring for himself, as was Mercedes. When one of them did not want to do chores, the other could step forward. Such as this morning, as his wife always slept in on days when she was not expected in the church, he was content to wake up before her to make her something sweet. Today he planned on cooking her crepes, one of the foods she had enjoyed often during their time at Garreg Mach. He had made sure to pick up a fresh array of fruits for her to choose from for toppings – strawberries, as was her usual choice. But he also picked out some blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, to give her a variety of options. Her whims sometimes changed based on time of day, or temperature, or some unknown variable that he had yet to uncover. It was his charge to document her tastes to the best of his ability, but her mercurial approach to the little things in life left it more of a challenge than he’d originally anticipated. Thus, Hubert prepared for her mutability instead of relying on assumption.</p><p>As he whipped the mixture of milk and eggs together, he recalled the years before he had met her. His grand plan in life was to follow Lady Edelgard’s lead, to carry out her ambitions for the unification of Fodlan under a reformed nobility and church. His time at Garreg Mach Monastery had been spent with that singular goal in mind. He would not say it was tunnel vision, but he certainly wasn’t looking for anything outside of that framework.</p><p>Back then, if one had asked what he envisioned for his life in the long term, he would have said without a second thought, “to serve Lady Edelgard.” But his imaginings often did not extend past the war, save for the eradication of those who slither in the dark. After he had passed those two checkpoints, his life shifted into a phase which he had never truly allowed himself to imagine. It had seemed too hopeful, to wonder what his personal life might look like.</p><p>Mercedes had not been an expected partner of his. He had grown close to her during the war, with gradual changes over weeks and months. Their relationship in academy days differed vastly from the bond they shared after shouldering the weight of war together. And he couldn’t be happier for it. Mercedes was a person who fit into his life so easily, as if she was always meant to be there by his side.</p><p>Even now, he can still remember the lightness in his heart as he watched her walk towards him down the aisle. They had made eye contact through the thin layer of her veil. She had looked like she wanted to tell him something, perhaps a secret or a small joke. He knew from the curve of her smile, how it dipped slightly at the end. He knew before this moment, that Mercedes was the one he wanted to spend his life with. But that small smile confirmed it yet again, this time cementing it within his heart. He realized that his life after this moment would be forever entwined with hers. And when Mercedes stepped to his side, and he pulled away her veil, her eyes widened at the presence of tears in his own. He brushed them away quickly, but Mercedes still gave his hand a light squeeze. That familiar pressure meant, “It’s okay, I’m here with you.” And he suppressed the urge to shed tears yet again, for he was lucky enough to have Mercedes as his partner, someone who knew him well enough to comfort him through days of war and peace with the same grace, the same empathy.</p><p>Even just remembering that moment softened his heart. His hand stilled mid slice, as he had been chopping strawberries. And then he resumed his action, returning to the present.</p><p>As he slid sliced fruit onto a plate, he found himself wondering yet again how his life had turned out so favorable. It was not that he had considered himself cursed or doomed. But he had always been prepared to handle the unsavory parts of Edelgard’s mission, to carve her path towards a new dawn and spill as much blood as necessary. His life, he had long believed, was one reserved for late nights and carefully placed poisons, for tactics and preparations, war and politics. He had never imagined what his mornings might look like, nor how peaceful he would feel as he prepared breakfast for his sleeping wife.</p><p>That was the emotion, wasn’t it? Peace, a prevailing sense of tranquility spreading throughout his life. And it was largely in part to Mercedes, who balanced him and who he balanced in turn. He had long been accustomed to a life in the dark. It was refreshing to at last have days also bathed in light. To hold the light and the dark together in the same room, neither blotting out the other but reaching a careful equilibrium.</p><p>As he was pouring the batter onto the freshly oiled pan, he felt arms wrap around his waist. He did not tense because he knew it was Mercedes’s touch. “I didn’t hear you wake up.”</p><p>“I wanted to surprise you.” She said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.</p><p>“You certainly accomplished that.” Yes, he thought. Mercedes surprised him all those years ago, and continued to do so with each passing day. Such lovely surprises, ones he counted amongst his blessings.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>find me <a href="https://twitter.com/wyvernknighted">on twitter</a> clowning over fire emblem rarepairs</p></blockquote></div></div>
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